Center for American Entrepreneurship Warns that the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act Endangers America’s Startup Ecosystem

WASHINGTON, D.C. – John R. Dearie, President of the Center for American Entrepreneurship, today issued the following statement regarding the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act:

“On June 11, 2021, the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act (PCOA) was introduced in the House of Representatives as part of a legislative package intended ‘to promote opportunity, innovation, and consumer choice in the digital marketplace.’  Sponsored by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), the bill would prohibit ‘certain acquisitions by dominant online platforms.’  The bill was passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on June 24^th by a vote of 24-17 vote, with significant dissension from both Democrats and Republicans.

As written, the bill, in fact, threatens opportunity, innovation, and consumer choice by endangering the nation’s startup ecosystem.  The bill would ban many acquisitions of startups by larger companies – transactions that serve as a critical ‘exit’ for startup founders, employees, and investors, driving the innovation flywheel whereby one generation of startups helps fund the next.  Moreover, by endangering the nation’s startup ecosystem, the bill represents a serious threat to the health and vitality of the U.S. economy at a time when policymakers should be taking every step to strengthen the post-COVID recovery.

CAE’s specific concerns are detailed in this fact sheet.

Given the threat to America’s startup ecosystem posed by the bill, the Center for American Entrepreneurship respectfully urges policymakers to oppose enactment of the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act as currently written.”

About the Center for American Entrepreneurship
The Center for American Entrepreneurship (CAE) is a nonpartisan research, policy, and advocacy organization whose mission is to engage and educate policymakers in Washington, and at state and local levels across the nation, regarding the critical importance of entrepreneurs and startups to innovation, economic growth, job creation, and expanding opportunity – and to pursue a comprehensive policy agenda intended to significantly enhance policy circumstances for new business formation, survival, and growth.

For more information, visit www.startupsUSA.org

Follow CAE on Twitter: @startupsUSAorg

###